Hail! Snail mail!

I just wanted to let you know that you looked really good in that suit today. When you talked about it, I wasn't sure how it would look, but it is nice.

For my birthday I am going to have the coolest party, with the coolest people and the coolest records. There will be drinks and food on the table and flashing lights and it will go all night! I haven't told Mum yet so don't say anything...

Love, from my nine year old friend, who lived ten minutes drive away. I saw her twice a week.

I used to receive around five 'Dear Alex...' letters a month, all containing very important and vital friendship building information.

This week in the mail, I got a bank statement (I'm sure I told them to email that stuff) and lots of election propaganda, which went straight into the bin. Someone at the GPO knows where it's at because they have placed the bin right next to the post office boxes. This bin has become a tree grave. I can hear the old forest trees crying inside,

'Why?! WHY!?'

For the past several years, I have only been receiving two 'Dear Alex...' letters a year.

One comes from my good friend, Ricki Ricki Ricardo, in Brisbane (I gave him this name, not his Mum). I love it when his envelopes arrive. They are always oversized and contain hilarious Christmas collages, which he has spent weeks making for all his friends.

I used to get a card from my Pop on my birthday. It always had a very short message and $50. Pop had little personalised stickers made up with his name and address, which he sealed the envelope with.

My Pop passed away last year, so from now on it's just me and Ricki Ricki Ricardo.

What happened?

The latest theme for our Snapped photography project is 'letterboxes'. I would have loved to promote letter writing using this project. Unfortunately, we don't have letterboxes in the Kimberley. We all collect our mail from the ugly PO boxes at the local shopping centres. And who wants to take a photo of that? I did try... boring.

What's not boring is that, as compensation, we have mail contractors! YAY! Mail contractors are hired by Australia Post to hand deliver 'Dear Alex...' letters and money from relatives to people living in very remote communities.

So instead of letterboxes, I give you 'the Postess with the Mostess', Cora Ewen! That's the little video about her up the top there. Cora will do almost anything to get your letters through... and even your seafood!

If you want to make these extraordinary efforts worthwhile, go out and buy a pen (because you probably don't own one of those anymore) and write someone a letter. It would be a big shame if all the postmen and women around Australia were working this hard just to bring you bills!

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Comments

Alex Smee

LE, what a great idea. Funny how we don't ask for people's mailing addresses much anymore. Love to hear how that goes!

LE

This is inspiring!! I want to write a letter to all my friends now..wherever they may be- the only thing is I'll have to get their address now instead of their emails! I won't expect to get a letter in return, but it would be fun to know their reaction when they received something in an envelope that wasn't a bill : )

iris

Cora is such a heartfelt soul I met her when I first moved to Broome I had no family and very few friends but she took me under her wing that's why I adopted her as my Gran. I used to travel the postie trail with her at times and remember she always got the mail in and out of there rain hail or shine and the kids in the communities would love Christmas time because Santa would come on the mail run and throw lollies.Your a inspiration to many Cora especially me keep up the great work...

Alex Smee

Eddie! I just spoke to Cora. She remembers you and your wife. She said something like 'that was a long time ago!' I love when these connections come out of stories. It's a big country but we're all quite close, aren't we?
Sonya, yes! Very exciting to receive a letter. It's like getting a secret... hard copy!

Eddie Jensz

It is good to see Cora again as we haven't been in contact since we left the Kimberley, after 14 years of paradise, and moved to Victoria. My wife worked for the post office in Broome and she would see Cora three times a week when Cora collected the mail for the Dampier Peninsula communities. Regards to Cora if she reads this. We miss our friends from the Kimberley but keep in touch with most by Facebook these days.

Sonya Gee

Alex I loved this! I loved seeing the red road and hearing about turtles in eskies. And on a side note, when I was about 8 I had a pen pal who lived next door. I think we would exchange a letter a day! We talked too but there was something very exciting about getting a personalised letter.